Doulas de France an organziation working to help connect mothers to Doulas in France

Citizens for Midwifery is a non-profit, volunteer, grassroots organization. The goal of Citizens for Midwifery is to see that the Midwives Model of Care is available to all childbearing women and universally recognized as the best kind of care for pregnancy and birth.

Reclaiming Midwives : This site displays stills from the set of "All My Babies" (1952) in Albany, Georgia, and strives to capture and preserve the "deep humanity inherent in midwifery and home birth."

Real Birth - Childbirth Preparation, Breastfeeding and Newborn Care classes for the expectant mother and her support person. They also provide a community of support, with many classes, support groups and activities for parents and their babies during the transition to parenthood.

The Coalition for Improving Maternity Services - collaborative effort of numerous individuals and more than 50 organizations representing over 90,000 members. Their mission is to promote a wellness model of maternity care that will improve birth outcomes and substantially reduce costs.

Childbirth Connection - works to improve maternity care for mothers, babies and families. Promotes safe, effective, and satisfying evidence-based maternity care. Evidence-based means using the best research about the safety and effectiveness of specific tests, treatments, and interventions to help you make informed decisions.

Approximately 10% of all incarcerated people are women on any given day in the United States, one-quarter of whom are pregnant or newly delivered. Health care in prison is primarily designed for men, often ignoring reproductive health of women and of pregnant prisoners in particular. The special circumstances of pregnancy in prison demand increased care and attention. Yet little information is available regarding the health care needs of pregnant prisoners. Below are some links to information regarding this issue.

The Birth Attendants - a non-profit organization working to restore health and justice into communities in western Washington State. The Prison doula project provides pregnancy, labor, and post partum doula services and popular education style childbirth education classes to women incarcerated in Washington State. Our community education project links our vital work inside prisons to the greater issues surrounding incarceration and works toward creating pathways of knowledge for western Washington communities about incarceration and its effects.

Birth as an American Rite of Passage 2004 by Robbie Davis Floyd. The author believes that unnecessary and harmful birthing procedures continue to be utilized because they help promote the values and beliefs of a culture that is focused on science and technology, rather then focused on the individuals science and technology is supposed to help.Buy from Amazon : Buy from Powells

Born in the USA: How a Broken Maternity System Must Be Fixed to Put Women and Infants First 2006 by Marsden Wagner. Written for fathers and mothers, this is a rare, behind-the-scenes look at what goes on in hospitals across the country. A longtime medical insider and international authority on childbirth assesses the flawed American maternity care system, powerfully demonstrating how it fails to deliver safe, effective care for both mothers and babies.Buy from Amazon : Buy from Powells

Expecting Trouble: What Expectant Parents Should Know about Prenatal Care in American 2000 by Dr. Thomas Strong. This book calls into question many of the prevailing assumptions which have driven our country's maternity healthcare for decades. Buy from Amazon : Buy from Powells

Giving Birth: A Journey into the World of Mothers and Midwives 2002 by Catherine Taylor. Catherine Taylor, a doula (birth assistant) and mother, offers observations of the working lives of midwives and the women who have depended on their skills and strength to help bring their children into the world. This is the perfect companion for parents-to-be and all professionals who are engaged in and witness to the miracle of birth.Buy from Amazon : Buy from Powells

Hard Labor Reflections of an Obstetrical Nurse1996 by Susan Diamond. In prose that is frequently riveting and always interesting, Diamond, a childbirth instructor and obstetrical nurse, details the 10 years she spent as a labor and delivery nurse.Buy from Amazon : Buy from Powells

The Medical Delivery Business: Health Reform, Childbirth, and the Economic Order 2003 by Barbara Bridgman Perkins. Explores the flaws in the business approach to maternity and health care. Buy from Amazon : Buy from Powells

A Woman in Residence 1993 by Michelle Harrison. A true story--based on diaries Dr. Michelle Harrison kept throughout her months of residency in OB/GYN--describes the serious and thrilling work of delivering new life into the world...and into Dr. Harrison's own struggle to reconcile the often startling difference between patient care and hospital convenience. Buy from Amazon : Buy from Powells

News Articles

What Women Aren't Told About Childbirth - posted 10-20-07 - Popular media outlets and advertisers would have women believe that labor and delivery happen in only one context: hospitals. When television shows, health magazines and films depict birth as a highly medicalized phenomenon that involves lots of screaming, a command to push and a baby before the next commercial break, it is no wonder that so few women in labor think to ask for more information when they are offered medical interventions. Or that so few are educated about natural childbirth.

Teens

Bristol Palin talks about her teen pregnancy. See the interview on Fox TV.